700 + days and waiting on NOD

[Navyguy2013]

I have a question on the best path forward for a NOD I filed over 700 days ago.

I filed the NOD in response to several disability claims that were denied for failure to show up for my C&P exams. I never received notification of any exams so, I did not show up. I filed a NOD contesting the above information within the required time-frame.

Ebenifits shows no change in the last 700+ days on my NOD. My calls to the VA's 1800# have yielded no results, they say they have no estimated time-frame for completion, and no updates on the NOD's progression. Just stand by to standby is the response from the VA. NOTE: I did get notification for C&P exams for my disability exams associated with my NOD in JAN2017, I did go to these exams.

So it appears that something is happening with my NOD, but Ebenifits and the VA 1800# show no changes in the last 700+ days. (I just got off the phone with the VA again this morning)

What should I do, stand by, if so for how long? Or should I contact someone, if so who, and what method of communication should I use?

I thank everyone for all of the help you provide to all of us, hopefully, one of these days I can provide assistance to people on this site, so far I am just stumbling around the VA process.

[Berta]

I am so glad you have an attorney Victor Ray....because good vet attorneys can wade through the VA BS.

They pulled the lost and found stuff on me and Many others here...and all we need to do is to stay healthy enough to fight back. Time is our biggest enemy. 

Thanks for emailing the Secretary as well..... he wasn't hired to change the VA but instead to Reform  it.

I sure hope he does just that for all of you!

 

 

[Buck52]

Navyguy and Victor

Here is a link that has Ms Carlies post....read her post  it will give you some ideas & some CFR's # that ms Carlie put in her post to the VA Under Secretary ,also post that follow  but Ms Carlie post is a great post and the VA Secretary canceled the C&P Exam.

http://community.hadit.com/topic/61871-im-sc-100-smcs-over-10-yrs-varo-just-requested-a-cp/#comment-369217

 

Edited March 6, 2017 by Buck52

[Victor Ray]

Berta.

if you are talking to me, which I think you are, I finally have most of my records, but the VA said they were withholding some also, and would not release them. All those from Japan, and about 7 months following my hospital stay there. I was issued the Vietnam Service Medal , but i don't think they are now questioning my Vietnam service. They "do"concede agent orange exposure, and service connected me for IHD at 30% and 50% for PTSD, but ignore all the documents and evidence showing the nexus from service conditions and current conditions. 

So far, they have intentionally avoided making eye contact with the information on the documents. They take them and lay them on the desk without viewing them. That way they can say they never saw this or that, like little kids would do, using a play on words. Childish bull and political correctness. No, they did not view the documents in my presence, but are they accessible by the examiners? 

I am going to make about 20 copies of the documented evidence and send them to various agencies,  government individuals, and news agencies for review and opinions, along with the VAs reasons for denials, and let them know I am looking for the best representation possible. I believe this is a malicious "INTENTIONAL CUE", with zero regard for my well being. The medical board proceedings are missing also, and that was held right there on base, so they were intentionally destroyed or withheld to make everything as impossible and hard as they could. Thank you Berta, for great information.

Victor Ray

[Victor Ray]

15 hours ago, Buck52 said:

 All boots on the ground Vietnam Vets use the A.O. Presumption Rule.or suppose to be able too!

As for as not having your Vietnam service on DD-214 if you can get any Buddy statements from your old Vietnam unit or units you served with  will be proof you were in Vietnam Morning reports  any certifications, awards CIB ANY TYPE OF CERTIFICATES/RIBBONS YOU MAY HAVE  COMBAT PAY VOUCHERS ANYTHING THAT PUTS YOU IN VIETNAM.

Can you put on here the reason they denied you? you may have already did that?

Victor Ray,An experienced Attorney is best for you at this point, you might need to get an IMO/IME but they are well worth it, you present what records you do have and that letter from the VA,''saying they would not release the records from June 1971 to January 1972, and they would show the migraine headaches, which is now a 13x5mm hypodensity in the brain white matter, and have had at least 2 strokes that are documented. I am 100% blocked in my left carotid artery too, and I believe there is evidence in those records. I was told I was part of an experiment, but blew it off,''

Show this to the IMO/IME Dr  and of course the Attorney

There's is no reason for the VA NOT to release all and any medical records they have on you. no matter what.

Failure to assist.

Failure to use the VCAA Act of 2000 &numerous other citations committed by the VA (CUE written all over them)  jmo

Ask the attorney to get you all and everything possible  from the VA as for as your benefits  and also your case could very well have some CUE 's along the way.

Don't let the Attorney Drag his/her feet  be up front with them  if its payment they seek  then find another Attorney   they get paid by the VA when they win  but make sure  who ever you pick for your Attorney has you as his No. One Priority and not in it for the $$$...they will get their $$

Also Request your claims be expedited  B/C of the length of time your claims have been under CONTINUED  prosecution and your Age ...you Request the expedition on your claims.

Priority of Processing of Claims ,There are some statues that state about the processing of claims (Expedition of Claims)

UNDER M21-1 PartIII Subpart ii   when veteran is terminally ill  or age 85 The only thing is if the veteran has been receiving benefits  then this may not BE A PRIORITY??  they don't really make this part clear ,this is why an attorney could help you. Note: they made changes to this April 6th 2015

   Read the M21-1 Part III Subpart ii ''Priority Processing of Claims'' It has some good information and I believe you follow under these guide lines as Terminally Ill.

You could email Secretary of VA all about this.....were all not sure how he will respond but if President Trump gets word on how the VA has treated you  I'm sure he will intervene  matter fact make the emails CC to each other.

This would probably be your fastest way  but check with your Attorney first  but its truly your call.

Maybe things will get better for you after checking with some cardio Dr's

I wish you the Best Victor.

Take Care  of your self Buddy

other members please feel free to chime in here   Ms berta, Asknod, Gastone, Broncovet.

 

Buck.

thank you for the great advice as always. All of you, Ms Berta, Asknod, Gastone, Broncovet, and everyone else that pitched in. It is all greatly appreciated.

I will read the M21-series and have read some, but DAV in St. Louis told me the days of Vietnam Veterans claims having priority are gone, and the doctors have not said I am terminal, but I haven't asked either. Dreading that day, but I will see if I fall under the rules.

DAV in Kansas City said there was no duty to assist in 1983 (my initial claim). 

I have specifically asked for pay vouchers, morning reports, travel orders, unit assignments, but didn't get anywhere, but it gets one address after another. I need to write some others like the finance dept.

i was issued the RVN Service Medal, and DD214 does show service in country, but I think I was caught up in the AO Exposure cover up. They looked at my P-3 profile "only", and made the decision before receiving my treatment records, but they said I had urticaria, rashes, papular rashes, swelling, large weals, lesions, eruptions, bone pain, abdominal cramping, heart rate 60-90, swollen arms, ankles, leg pain, mosquito bites, flexural Atopic Dermatitis, and it got worse and worse with every defect listed under the "P" in "PULHES" on DA3349, but did nut use the word "CHLORACNE", so I was denied. The 1983 fee based examiner for the VA also determined "atopic dermatitis", the same as on May 26, 1971 at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, Long Binh, Vietnam. 

The VA has always hidden my records. Always! They have them. They just won't let me have a copy. They say they may harm someone else, they have not been located, they may be going to release them after my DRO, which is well past a year now, but that is a maybe. They may have them and may release them. 

I don't believe they should be holding them either, but those FOIA Requests are about as useless as most of the regulations that are so craftily written. They are impressive to hear, but the VA has reduced them to meaningless rhetoric. The UCMJ and CFR are all laws used against the veteran, and the vet does not win a tie. It gets remanded, reopened, or some other "re" until we die and survivors are lost.

They do what they damn well please, and I have no faith in such a corrupt system, it's corrupt leaders, corrupt rating officers, corrupt examiners, corrupt employees. The whole system is corrupt to the core, and everything that they put out is meaningless and hopelessly deceiving. 

I am glad you all are here to help veterans, because the VA isnt. They are untrustworthy, deceitful, and responsible for the phony backlog. Nothing they say is believable because they change lies daily. I am just rambling on now, but I know the VA is lying about knowing dioxin alters DNA just like it knew dioxin is was killing us 50 years ago, bit chose to let us die and hid our treatment records in hopes of speeding up the process so we couldn't collect any benefit for damage from their experiments they did on us, the chemicals they used, or any other desire they have to use us Guinea Pigs for. 

I am sorry for feeling so bitter, and I won't comment anymore, at least when I am upset. I guess I have been in shock the last 46 years, not being able to understand how people do what they do and not be bothered. It seems that lying comes very easy to the VA, and is the most desired trait of all. Thanks for being here though, and giving some people hope. It is all some vets have, and all the VA is going to give too.

Victor Ray

 

[Victor Ray]

12 hours ago, Berta said:

I am so glad you have an attorney Victor Ray....because good vet attorneys can wade through the VA BS.

They pulled the lost and found stuff on me and Many others here...and all we need to do is to stay healthy enough to fight back. Time is our biggest enemy. 

Thanks for emailing the Secretary as well..... he wasn't hired to change the VA but instead to Reform  it.

I sure hope he does just that for all of you!

 

 

Berta.

Thank you, but I actually cancelled that appointment. It is downtown and in the VFW Headquarters, so I got paranoid because I don't trust any one even remotely associated with VSOs. 

I may advertise for an attorney in the news paper, I don't know, but I need a super lawyer, the best. I want this to go as public as possible and reach as many agencies as possible, and maybe Secretary Shulkin may get wind of it, and expose the St. Louis Mo, Kansas City Mo, Atlanta GA, and Waco Texas raters for falsely stating the facts, and the VA for hiding my evidence for 45 years, when I may have been helped and treated, if I had been monitored. The VA knew my history of hospitalization in Vietnam, and I believe the VA intentionally withheld my treatment records basicaly all my life after Vietnam. 

i will get an attirney though because the VA has demonstrated time after time they have no intention of making anything right about any of the lies it put on paper in this last decision from Texas. Honesty is something that has to be forced on them because they are not here to do the honest or right thing. Raters are in the destroy lives business, and i hope every one of them pay.

Sorry for not following through yet, but I will, and if the Secretary dont want to hear, i will go elsewhere. He works for the VA, not me, so i dont know. Thanks again Berta.

Victor Ray

[Buck52]

Victor

I am not sure you have requested your C-FILE  if not please do so or do so again!

I'm sure you have but keep requesting it  bug the hell out of'em

Not sure you have tried this but have you tried to contact all the VA Hospitals you been in for treatment? even the private sector  they keep medical records  so its something you might try... be worth a shot

I Think my old unit when I was in Nam is non-existing now or defunt  but the 24th Evac Hospital  that was in Long Binh maybe serving in another country or back in the USA ??...you may try a google search,  they possible could still have some of your medical records if you can locate them??

http://www.24thevacuationhospital.org/

 Here is some other presumptions for A.O  Service Connection & how the presumption works to including  how 1151 TORT claims can be filed

Presumptive Service Connection

The third way to be found service-connected is by statutory presumption. Over the years, statutes were made that that find certain conditions for certain veterans to be presumed service-connected. It should be noted that a veteran must have served a minimum of 90 days to qualify for presumptive service connection.

If a chronic disease manifests itself within the first year of leaving service it can be presumed service-connected. This presumption can be overcome if it is shown that there was another cause for the condition between the time the veteran left service and the onset of the disease. It should also be noted here, that certain diseases have a longer presumptive period than the one-year. One such medical condition is multiple sclerosis if this condition manifest itself within seven years it is presumptively service-connected.

There is also statutory presumptions for POWs for certain medical conditions, Persian Gulf Veterans for certain medical conditions or symptoms, veterans exposed to radiation for certain medical conditions, and veterans exposed to Agent Orange for certain medical conditions. Specific discussion of all these statutory presumptions is beyond the scope of this article since each one would require  ar Secondary Service Connection

 

The fourth way a veteran can be found service-connected is called secondary service connection. If a service-connected medical condition caused or aggravated another claimed medical condition than the claimed medical condition is service-connected also. It must be shown by medical evidence that it is "at least as likely as not" that the medical condition for which the veteran is seeking service connection was caused or aggravated by an already service-connected condition. For example, if a veteran is service-connected for diabetes and as a result of the diabetes the veteran suffers from peripheral neuropathy and the veteran can show the peripheral neuropathy is a result of his service-connected diabetes than he would be secondarily service-connected for the peripheral neuropathy. In these types of claims, it is almost always a good idea to get a doctor's opinion letter on the issue. These types of claims can often be quite difficult and normally require a strong and detailed opinion letter from your doctor after he has reviewed your record and examined you.

 

1151 Claims and VA Federal Tort

The fifth way a veteran can be found service-connected is if the medical condition was proximately caused by VA medical care. This is often called at 1151 claim. To be service-connected in this type of claim it must be shown that there was fault or accident by the VA that caused the disability. It is significant to note here that if the VA acted negligently the veteran may also want to file a Federal tort claim. These types of claims can be extremely complex. You should consider getting help from a lawyer in this type of claim. And if you plan to file a Federal tort claim against the VA then you will almost certainly want to hire a lawyer for that claim. Many VA lawyers do not handle Federal tort claim cases so you may have to seek two separate lawyers in this situation. You can ask a VA lawyer and if they do not handle federal tort claims, they will probably know a lawyer that does.

This information about different methods of service connection for VA compensation claims and the explanation of nexus to prove disability is general information and not a substitute for speaking with a lawyer about your claim. 

 

Victor  some times writing out a good lay statement from the veteran helps, when a veteran can't get access of his military medical records  then  the veteran can sure put in his 2 cents worth as to how does the VA EXPECT him to prove his case.

I think an email to the VA Secretary is in order here.

 

Edited March 7, 2017 by Buck52